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The wind blows
Chatterbox: Pudding's Place
The wind blows
The wind blows in your face as you walk back from school, cursing the fact that you left your sweater at home. It isn't cold enough for the fleece that you have tucked in your backpack, but something to protect your bare arms would have been nice. You can barely breathe, the wind not giving you a chance to suck in some still air, so you turn and walk backwards instead. That's better.
In your moment of enjoying the usage of your lungs, you don't notice the black shape that was following you dart behind a tree. It is upset; now it won't get to have some fun. It tosses the knife it was holding onto the pavement, and you hear the clink and go over to investigate. You don't want to pick the weapon up, but as you look it melts into a scroll. You pick it up and read,
Hello, traveler! Many apologies that we could not frighten you with use of this knife, and had to give you a boring old scroll instead, but this might be safer anyways, don't you think? I am The Shadow Mistress, and I am here to welcome you to a cross-country tour of Europe in a special, one-of-a-kind moving castle!* We'll go to famous monuments, have scenic detours, and there will be NO pushing of people off the cliffs of Ireland!
Oh, and also, unfortunately, you have no choice but to go, because there is an assassin hiding behind the tree on your left who may or may not have another knife.
Have fun! Hope to see you there!
Not-So-Sincerely,
The Shadow Mistress
*Studio Ghibli copied off US, not the other way around.
You glance at the tree off to your left. Is it just your imagination, or is there a shadow lurking there?
You decide not to take chances, and go home to pack.
submitted by The Shadow Mistress
(May 22, 2016 - 12:11 pm)
(May 22, 2016 - 12:11 pm)
Don't die, thread! TOP TOP TOP!
(May 29, 2016 - 7:56 pm)
Carolion King: I love Ghibli! You have earned my respect just by knowing about Ghibli! I'm coming with-
Candy KING: i cAn inTRodUce mySeLf, thAnKs! i aM cAnDy KING, rUleR of CaNDy KINGdom, nAmeD afTer mE, tHe cAndy KING!
Carolion: Thanks? I'm packing:
-books
-Zebra Cakes
-a Swiss Army knife
-my phone
-my magical huskie whistle
And Candy KING, I'm assuming, will be bringing candy.
(May 29, 2016 - 9:15 pm)
Is it too late to join, if so, count me out? If not...
-Donut-my AE
*Bringing: Donuts
-Pavlavla-Donut's twin CAPTCHA
*Bringing: Pavlavla
-Crysti-my other AE
-Clothes
-Toiletries (hairbrush, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.)
-My sleepmask (don't steal it!)
-Lunar Chronicles series (I'm going to read it for the third time soon, after the book that I am reading)
-My computer
-My phone
-My Kindle Fire
-My clipboard that also holds stuff
-Knitting
-Paper, pencils, erasers and a pencil sharpener
When are you going to start? Please make it soon!
(May 30, 2016 - 5:21 pm)
I forgot! I need my violin, my bow (it's an instrument bow, not an archery one), my rosin, my foam (it's like a chin rest, but it's a piece of foam) and rubber band for the foam, my green stand (I have another stand that I don't like too) and its case, and my music (my tuning app is on my Kindle). Basically my whole violin set.
(May 30, 2016 - 5:27 pm)
Tut, tut, tut! So little participation! Ah well, the ones who have decided to brave my assassin will miss out on much.
I will give the wise ones who have decided to not risk their lives a sneak peek at what they will be dealing with, while we wait. I will give any others who wish to participate one more day to pack, and then we will be off.
DAY -1
Cho Chang brushed her black hair back from her face, staring at the sky. The scroll had not told her when, or how, she would be picked up and brought to Europe, and she was utterly clueless as to what she should do. She considered summoning a magic motorbike, but decided it was not a good idea to ride in a small, not-walled space with Elsa and Pinkie PIEper.
Mei-xue held Xiâo tùzî (apologies; my keyboard does not have all the right characters for his name) in her arms as she avoided the rapidly flying spells coming from a highly impatient Fúdìmó. She honestly had to wonder what was taking this Shadow Mistress so long; Xiâo tùzî had already broken into his stash of lettuce. Luckily, she was not bored at all; she pulled out The House of Hades and began reading, settling alongside Hémîn.
Shadowmoon, meanwhile, was not bored at all. The very rude Tara had decided to set off to Europe on her own, "Riding her noble steed, Saphira, with Aquadeath unsheathed and held above, awaiting glory!" Therefore, it was all she could to to stop Tara from leaving ahead of schedule, let alone keep track of Luna as well. She had her hands full all right; there was no time for waiting.
Balletandbow was busy fangirling. In this case, it contained mostly a lot of jumping up and down and squealing, "Ireland, Ireland, Ireland!" over and over and over. BowAndBalletTheMechanicalPencil had had quite enough, and was about to edge Torstyn and PieSlingerXtreme to attacking her, when she noticed that PSXTreme had realized what exactly the bag was that she had been smuggling along. Afterwards, she mostly had to run around the yard and hope she wasn't killed violently and quickly.
Joan B. was writing in her journal while trying, in vain, to peek in Puck's. Not that there was anything to see; mostly, Puck's scatterbrained mind was focused on I want to go. Can we get going? Are they there yet? Why isn't Dev on this trip? Why is Torstyn on this trip instead of Dev, for Pete's sake? Are we going yet? and such things. Besides, Puck had convinced Sir Galahad to guard her while she wrote, and he was a decent fighter. So the writing, guarding, and sneaking of others' private thoughts went on...
Bookworm was just fine. After all, she had an overgrown inchworm as a companion and a pop-up bookshelf. What could make a better wait? Besides Sandra, who was pounding on her drums in a vain effort to annoy Bookworm, everything was perfect. Munching on a sandwich, she flipped the pages of her book, awaiting whatever transport The Shadow Mistress had to offer.
Septemeber read. She simply read. What's better than reading, after all?
Hotairballoon, seeing as he packed nothing, was highly bored. Dolphin flapped around in a small portable tank. H.A.B. watched the sky, as most moving castles are easily spotted from there.
You have to pity Carolion. She didn't think she'd be waiting this long, alone, with Candy KING. In a mess of other people's AEs, with a good castle crew, tour guide, and a lot of friends, it was easier to keep track of him. But in an empty yard, with no one but her? How do you even control a person who has a 24-hour sugar rush? Especially if he doesn't have the brains to stop eating candy? After a few vain attempts at control, Carolion leaned against the walls of her home, hoping Candy KING didn't bound too far away in the snow.
Natalie was reading The Lunar Chronicles for the third time. Donut munched on donuts, sitting by Pavlavla, watching Crysti show off her crystal powers. It was peaceful and completely sane.
Meanwhile, The Shadow Mistress tapped her steering wheel. The Castle was impossibly slow; she had mechanics fixing it, but they had to turn off all the gears, which made the going even slower. It was frustrating and absolutely humiliating; technical problems on a ski lodge! But some of the CBers' reactions really were quite funny. She enjoyed watching them on the screens from her control room. Hopefully soon the fun would begin...
(May 30, 2016 - 6:17 pm)
By the way: Donut is very sane, but very sassy. So, you can use her sassy side sometime in the story.
(May 30, 2016 - 8:08 pm)
LOL, sounds like me!
(May 31, 2016 - 2:25 pm)
Xiao tu zi is female, by the way.
(May 31, 2016 - 3:33 pm)
I'm coming! And I'm bringing Veronica and Catrina, too.
Wait, what?!? What about me?!?
You've already been to a ski lodge, plus they're new here.
NOOO! That's not fair!! Why does everyone hate me?!? Why-
~YAAAAY!!! THIS'LL BE SUPER FUNERIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~
*I'm quite excited to go. I've always wanted to see Ireland.*
We're packing the essentials (Clothes, toothbrush, ETC), ~CANDYYYY!!!!~, *Recordings of all the plays I've ever been in so I can show off*, my phone, a journal, and some pens and pencils.
(May 30, 2016 - 7:03 pm)
That was awesome! It also sounds exactly like Tara.
I want to go to Camelot!
Aaaannd.... That explains a lot.
Luna says oryn. O'Ryan? Hey, that's an Irish name! Getting into the spirit of traveling, are you?
*Sure, sure. Let's just pretend that O'Ryan is an Irish last name. Not a male wolf last name.*
Luuuunnnaaaa.......
* I will literally kill you if you say another word*
FOR CAMELOT!!!!!
This is going to be a long trip.
(May 31, 2016 - 4:36 pm)
All spots have been filled. Unfortunately, anyone who has decided to deny this trip will be suffering dire consequences.
DAY 0
"All clear, boss!"
"Don't call me boss," whispered the Shadow Mistress, pressing on the gas. Instantly her castle began to move. It was huge, made entirely out of stone, with red flags flying from the turrets. It walked on four spindely legs, the castle itself balanced on a cloud, and was generally very conspicuous.
The only reason Carolion didn't see the Castle coming was because of the snow. As she lived in polar regions, it was pretty impossible for it to not be snowing, and it was coming down relatively hard at the moment. Instead, she noticed it once the skinny legs started folding up, slowly lowering the Castle to the ground.
A drawbridge rolled down, coming to rest with a bang! on a snowdrift. Before anyone could react, Candy KING was already up and running and inside. Without anything better to do, Carolion gathered up her things and followed him.
A similar arrival occured with the other CBers, although there was a definite absence of snow. After all had found their way into the Castle (and all Alter Egos were herded into the Great Hall), the Shadow Mistress made her first appearance.
"Greetings," she said calmly. "I am the Shadow Mistress, and I will be your host here in the Castle."
No part of the Mistress's body could be shown. She wore a long-sleeved black dress that fell to her ankles and lace black gloves covering her hands. She had black high-heeled boots, mostly hidden by her skirt, and wore a cloak with a hood draped over her face. Her voice was soft and yet echoed through the Hall; it was low and high all at once. She would have been imposing if it were not for the fact she was no larger than the tallest of her guests.
"I thought," she continued, speaking into total but attentive silence, "We could start with the classic European stop: England. We could ride the London Eye, look at the Big Ben... maybe go to York and look at some chapels--"
"oH, bLeH," said Candy KING.
"Perhaps the Alter Egos could go to a theme park while the sane counterparts looked at the monestaries."
That cheered him up.
"After that, we will probably venture to Ireland--"
There was a surpressed squeal from Balletandbow, and another from Catrina.
"And then perhaps some more islands, such as Wales and Scotland. Any questions?"
Hotairballoon raised his hand. "Won't we be seen? I mean, Elsa and Pinkie and BABTMP and PSXtreme and Torstyn and such... they're not exactly inconspicuous."
The Shadow Mistress seemed to smile, although it was impossible to tell if she was really doing so under her hood. Reaching into a pocket in her cloak, she pulled out a small piece of paper and held it out flat in her palm. It read: PASS TO ALTERNATE REALITY.
"This pass will allow us to traverse the world without anybody else in it," she informed her guests. "It's an alternate reality mimicing ours exactly, minus the people. We can have all the fun we want without any onlookers!"
The CBers smiled and nodded. Seeing no more questions, the Shadow Mistress sent them to the second floor to find out what their rooms were.
As the CBers filed out, she tucked the pass back into her pocket, being extra careful not to let the back show.
It read: ONE WAY ONLY.
----
The CBers gathered around a small piece of paper nailed to an otherwise empty corkboard. The writing on it was typed.
ROOMS, it said.
THE BLUE ROOM:
Luna
Pinkie PIEper
Candy KING
Dolphin
Torstyn
THE RED ROOM:
Mei-xue
Catrina
Donut
Tara
Joan
THE YELLOW ROOM:
Bookworm
Xiâo tùzî
Russel
BowAndBalletTheMechanicalPencil
Puck
THE GREEN ROOM:
Carolion K.
Fúdìmó
Crysti
PieSlingerXtreme
Sir Galahad
Pavlavla
THE PURPLE ROOM:
Hotairballoon
September
Cho Chang
Veronica
Cordana
Sandra
THE BROWN ROOM:
Elsa
Natalie
BalletandBow
Joss
Hèmîn
Shadowmoon
(May 31, 2016 - 6:40 pm)
One way only? Ooh...
(May 31, 2016 - 9:21 pm)
I demand to be put in the blue room! Or the purple room! Any room but the brown room!
(June 1, 2016 - 11:50 am)
Dear Shadow Mistress,
I think that Donut and Pavlavla have to be together. Donut is very protective of her twin, Pavlavla. Only Donut and I understand Pavlavla. Also, I will be lonely with no AEs or a CAPTCHA in my room.
I basically want to be together with my AEs and CAPTCHA so they don't have problems, and so I won't be lonely. Can you do please do that?
Sorry for the complaints.
-Natalie
(June 1, 2016 - 1:32 pm)
I WANT TO BE IN THE BLUE ROOM!!!!!
*The red room...... Hmmm...... Tara, could we trade? Red is the color of blood...... Also, my cousin O'Rian is a red wolf, so.......*
If it's ok with the Shadow Mistress....
(June 1, 2016 - 3:23 pm)